Loss Of Compassion In Lord Of The Flies

The Truth of Mankind:Loss of Compassion
Thesis: In the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, English school boys show their natural capacity for brutality as they progressively change on the isolated island, displaying how the island can bring violence to the boys’ mentality, and how their desire to hunt can affect their humanity.
The boys in the story develop an escalating mindset of violence as the conflict between them emerges. In one of the scenes from chapter 11, Samneric are being held captive by Jack’s tribe, and Jack begins to mock Ralph;causing Ralph to lose his temper. Once Ralph hears enough from Jack, he heads towards him and “They met with a jolt and bounced apart. Jack swung with his fist at Ralph and caught him on the ear.
Ralph hit Jack in the stomach and made him grunt. Then they were facing each other again, panting and furious, but unnerved by each other’s ferocity” (179). In this passage, the developing conflict between Jack and Ralph reaches a climax. The fact that they are “unnerved by each other’s ferocity” displays how new this level of violence is. After Jack expresses antagonism towards Ralph throughout a majority of the book, the actions following the moment Ralph finally calls Jack a beast and a thief are also of ferocity. Therefore, as their conflict is brought to the surface, their mindset of violence escalates. After Piggy’s death, Jack threatens Ralph with a similar fate. As soon as Jack says that, he “Viciously, with full intention, hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs, then sheared off and fell in the water. Another spear, a bent one that would not fly straight, went past his face and one fell from high where Roger was” (181). This quote shows Jack’s lack of hesitation when he furiously rushes towards Ralph. The way Jack uses his spear to “[tear] the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs” proves how there are no limits to brutality for him. Even after Jack warns Ralph about getting hurt, Jack still possesses the urge to hurt him. This manifests the immorality that is inside Jack, and how the conflict between them has affects Jack to be barren of either mercy or sympathy. To conclude, the passages shown here display the increasing rage and brutality within the boys, which matches the expanding conflict and encounters they have between one another.
Another example of individuals showing the savagery within them in Lord of the Flies is the English school boys losing their humanity when their need to hunt to survive turns into an expression of savagery.
As the boys are settling down onto the island, Jack and his choir group are ecstatic from their successful pig hunt, and are ready to tell Ralph all about it. Jack exclaims, “ ‘I cut the pig’s throat,’ said Jack, proudly, and yet twitched as he said it. ‘Can I borrow yours, Ralph, to make a nick in the hilt? The boys chattered and danced. The twins continued to grin” (69). Jack feels exhilaration from killing the pig, and asks Ralph to borrow his knife “to make a nick in a hilt”,and he is described as speaking “proudly, and yet twitched”. This provides a positive connotation that express his enthusiasm for the kill, and is an early characterization for Jack’s passion for killing. Jack’s manner while talking about using Ralph’s knife to make tally marks on his, shows that he is planning on more kills. As the number of pig kills increases, the boys on the island descend deeper into ferocity. Ralph gets mad at Jack and the choir for carelessly letting the signal fire go out; causing the ship to not see them. Jack argues back saying,“ ‘We needed meat’ Jack stood up as he said this, the bloodied knife in his hand. There was the brilliant world of hunting, tactics, fierce exhilaration, skill; and there was the world of longing and baffled common-sense. Jack transferred the knife to his left hand and smudged blood over his forehead as he pushed down the plastered hair” (71). Even as he states how important food is, the imagery in this passage vividly illustrates him as clutching the “bloodied knife in his hand”, a marker of savagery at the beginning of the reign bloodlust. Jack also “smudged blood over his forehead”, depicting how wild and uncivilized he has become. The situation as a whole shows his loss of humanity since first arriving on the island, as he previously
found killing a pig daunting due to the blood, but now finds himself comfortable with it. Jack’s desire to hunt brings him through a transformation that is also seen in all of the savages on the island, proving the natural capacity for brutality that resides within everyone.